Shambhala PortAventura 2012

[Leo C]

Primera piedra de la montaa rusa 2012 • PortAventura Fans and The new roller coaster: a spectacular expedition to scale the heights

Article of the announcement on the site's front page. B&M hypercoaster coming to PortAventura, home of Dragon Khan, in 2012.
Construction later will be discussed here.

[Daniel Barto]

I'm glad B&M has finally broke out of their "under 2mm tall" shell

[Leo C]

"Shambhala: Expedicion Al Himalaya” could be a potential name.

[Leo C]

The station track and final brake run are up. Video è foto della costuzione di Shambhala il nuovo rollercoaster di PortAventura . | Roller Coaster Revolution

Dragon Khan was painted red and blue.

I believe Antoine caught the true name of this hypercoaster being built.

[Antoine]

I wonder when they plan to open this coaster. Excavation on it began in early 2011, but looking at the pictures, it appears they have a long ways to go.

[Daniel Barto]

Here's a pov from pa community's youtube channel.
I spy a trim break on the first drop

[Leo C]

I guess starting with Behemoth they started throwing out any real length or real elements after the MCBR. Diamondback is the exception but Intimidator and this ride look shorter.

[Leo C]

Bloggercoaster: Construcción Shambhala (enero 2012 - parte 2)

The lift hill is rising. Do I see the white and dark blue colors that I find on The Time Machine?

[Leo C]

Shambhala topped out.

[Antoine]

And we have video of it too! I wonder when this beast is opening because I wanna be sure to plan my trip there after it has already opened.
PortAventura: construcción atracción Shambhala 2012 - YouTube

[Daniel Barto]

Construccin Shambhala, Expedicin al Himalaya - Nueva montaa rusa 2012 • PortAventura Fans

More pictures have been posted! It's coming along beautifully!

[Antoine]

Oh yeah it is coming along very nicely. I can't find anywhere when the ride is supposed to open. The park actually opens in a few weeks though. From looking at the pictures I would think it won't be ready until the middle of April at the earliest.

[Leo C]

I can't get a grip either on when this coaster is going to open.

Wow, this ride is about half finished with pics taken from afar. That high turnaround looks really cool. I think it would just eat the Cheetah Run turnaround.

[Leo C]

The turnaround is crazy. If you looked at NITRO's hammerhead at the entry and exit it's like they ripped it out and put it behind you on this coaster. Riders will twist up and out of it on this ride. I don't like the oddities on Apollo's Chariot but this turnaround is in the same category of being different.

[Chris H]

Some construction pictures:
Shambhala | Reportaje Fotográfico II « El Blog de Dream

[Leo C]

The turnaround is basically shaped like a "&".

[Antoine]

Moving right along with the ride. It appears that the majority of the coaster is complete. At least the large camelbacks and up to the turnaround points and back. The low maneuvers back to the station I'm not sure if they are done or not. I wish the website would tell when this coaster is supposed to open. I wanna plan a trip there for the end of April if possible. B&M usually has 2 weeks of testing on their new coasters, so if construction is complete by the end of March, late April trip should work for me. One the bright side, Europa Park's new coaster, Woden Timburcoaster is set to debut in 3 weeks. Pretty sure I will be there too!

[Antoine]

Double post:
Construction has been completed all the way up to the MCBR. They have even started to double check all the bolts on the ride. I suspect maybe another 500-800 feet of track to install at the most and this baby is done! Let's get to testing already. At their current pace, all vertical construction should be done within the next 2 weeks at the most. BTW, that is one crazy figure eight!

[Antoine]

Trains have now arrived on site, so it is safe to say that all vertical construction is complete. The trains are the newer style like Intimidator and Behemoth.

[Leo C]

I saw a blurry distant pic of the trains on a flat bed. They have black seat backs. In a Jersey Shore Pauly D voice: "Trains are here."

[Antoine]

Here is something interesting from rcdb.com. The top speed of Shambhala will be 83.3 MPH while the top speed of Furius Baco is 83.9 MPH. I wonder if that was done on purpose so that Baco still maintains the record of fastest coaster in Europe.

[Leo C]

As in they turned up the Baco Taco juice?

[Antoine]

Yeah, they have turned it up a number of times over the years. Kinda like what they did with Stealth at Thorpe Park and that thing has QUITE the take off too!

[Antoine]

Dragon Khan is no longer SBNO. They have her running with passengers again. That is a very good sign for Shambhala. Basically means all bolts are tightened and triple checked and vertical construction is 100% complete. Just a matter of time before a train is tested. Can't wait.

[Antoine]

Gotta love a good test! B&M usually spends about 2 weeks testing their standard coasters prior to it getting a passing grade to open. Their more sophisicated ones take about 3 weeks. Safe to say that barring any problems, Shambhala will be open sometime in May. Time to book a trip! This will be my final amusement park prior to leaving Germany.
Port Aventura Shambhala Testing New 2012 - YouTube

[Leo C]

That turnaround looks like it takes quite a bit of juice out of the ride. It's only testing so far though. I wonder how much more crazy Levi would have been if it had that turnaround.

[Antoine]

Yeah, I noticed that too. I wonder what kind of wheels they have on the ride in that video. B&M uses two different types. One causes more speed.

[Leo C]

That second hill is amazingly steep.

[Wes]

That turnaround is wicked. Is it too late to take Intimidator's out and put one in like that?

HIT THE WALL ON INTIMIDATOR! Oh wait, bad idea.

[Antoine]

Too late for that. You just better hope I don't make this my new number 2 B&M hyper out there. Will Intimidator go from Silver to Bronze medal? Shall find out in about a month .